جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 80

Dominic’s POVI didn’t like this place one bit, the house was too quiet. The floors creaked in places, there were floral curtains on the windows and old photographs in mismatched frames cluttering every surface.It was the kind of house that invited vulnerability and I hated it. I didnt hate it because it wasn’t beautiful, it was in its own way but because it stripped me of the armor I’d spent years building. There were no glass walls or pristine, cold surfaces to reflect the man I’d carefully crafted. Here, there was nowhere to hide. Ethan fit into it too easily leaving me as the stranger.I watched him move through his aunt’s home like he belonged here, laughing softly when Marjorie teased him, his eyes warm as he listened to her stories. It stirred something in me something that ached, something that felt like envy.I didn’t know how to belong and Tyler, he was everywhere.He lurked like a shadow, always just around the corner with that smug, knowing smile. Every time I turned my

Ethan’s POVThe house felt unbearably silent after Dominic stormed out, the echo of the door slamming still rattling through my bones. I stood frozen in the kitchen, my pulse thudding in my ears, staring at the empty space where he’d been just moments ago.Aunt Marjorie sat at the table, wringing her hands, her eyes red-rimmed with worry and confusion. Tyler hovered near the doorway, looking as composed as ever, though I could see the faint curve of satisfaction at the corner of his mouth.I wanted to scream, I wanted to tear that smug expression off his face and tell Aunt Marjorie everything but my throat felt tight. The chaos of what had just happened swirled around me and I didn’t know how to untangle it.Aunt Marjorie broke the silence first, her voice trembling.“Ethan, sweetheart… is what Tyler said true? About Dominic being… volatile?”“No,” I said instantly. Marjorie flinched. “But you saw how he was, just now. That… that wasn’t normal, Ethan. I’ve never seen someone so angry.

Tyler’s POVDominic’s hands were still on me when I walked away, the phantom ache of his grip blooming across my chest. It made me smirk. All his careful control, for all his noble restraint, Dominic was hanging by a thread and I was the one pulling it taut.The storm rattled the shutters as I descended the hall, my pulse steady, my breathing calm. Dominic thought he’d gotten under my skin, but he didn’t understand. This was my game. He’d just stumbled into the middle of it, clueless and angry, flailing like a wild animal in a cage.I paused outside Aunt Marjorie’s door, straightened my shirt, and put on my most charming smile before knocking lightly.“Aunt Marjorie?” I called softly, pitching my voice to sound warm and excited. “Are you awake?”There was a shuffling noise inside, followed by her sleepy voice. “Tyler? It’s the middle of the night.”“I know, I know,” I said, feigning breathless enthusiasm. “but this couldn’t wait, I just got the most incredible news!”The door creak

Dominic’s POVThe door slammed behind me, the echo reverberating through the narrow hall. My hands were fists at my sides, the muscles in my arms trembling with the effort of not putting them through a wall.I couldn’t go back there not with Tyler’s smug face burned into my vision and Ethan’s wide, conflicted eyes haunting me.I stalked through Aunt Marjorie’s back porch, out into the cold morning air. Rain drizzled steadily from the overcast sky, soaking my shirt in seconds but I barely felt it. My chest was too hot, my rage too sharp. Ethan had said yes to him staying.Against every warning, every instinct, every word I’d spoken, he’d chosen to let Tyler stay. I dragged my hands down my face, breathing hard. I didn’t really blame Ethan, this was Tyler’s doing. His manipulation. Tyler knew exactly which strings to pull and he has been pulling them since we first arrived.The phone call I’d overheard in the hall replayed in my mind like a poisoned recording. Tyler’s silky voice moc

Ethan’s POVBoxes were everywhere. Everywhere. I practically tripped over a stack of carefully labeled containers as I darted between the kitchen and the living room, trying to keep the chaos of moving day under some semblance of control. Dominic and Tyler were “helping,” but between Dominic’s intense, silent supervision and Tyler’s casual, almost theatrical willingness to lift things, I was getting pulled in a dozen directions at once.“Careful with that one!” I called out as Tyler lifted a medium-sized box with a grin that was just a little too easy, too practiced. He glanced at me, nodded, and carried it across the room like a seasoned mover. Meanwhile, Dominic hovered near the stairs, arms crossed, eyes narrowed not just at Tyler, but at me too. I caught a flicker of warning in his glance, and I swallowed, trying to focus on the task at hand.I shouldn’t have been surprised by either of them. Dominic has always been vigilant, the kind of person who reads every gesture, every wor